The Queen Wore
Combat Boots
By Jen McCafferyD
esiree Pabon was lined up
backstage at Hollywood Post
43, an American Legion hall
in California, trying to steady
her nerves and her legs. A
sergeant first class in the Army, Pabon
was used to walking in combat boots.
Heels were another matter.
Wearing an off-the-shoulder eve-
ning gown, Pabon, 31, was vying for
the title of 2018 Ms. Veteran America.
Despite the name and the occasional
tiara, Ms. Veteran America is not your
typical pageant. There are no height
or weight restrictions. There is a talent
contest, but there’s also an optional
push-up contest. The interview ques-
tions focus on the women’s knowl-
edge of military history.
“Femininity isn’t just about looks,”
says Army major Jas Boothe, who cre-
ated the contest seven years ago and
sees it as a celebration of all women,
no matter what they wear. “We honor
and acknowledge that to serve is a
sacrifice of every woman who has
worn that uniform.”
Pabon learned of Ms. Veteran
America when she was stationed in
Qatar. “I was scrolling through
Facebook, and I saw this picture of
two of the queens,” she says. They
were facing off in the push-up com-
petition, “staring each other down.magazine. “After being around war
and death, it’s pretty cool.”
Brown came to the idea from his
own post-military experiences. He
served as a corporal in the Marines,
and when he returned home after
three tours of duty in Iraq and Af-
ghanistan from 2004 to 2008, he
found himself staring down many of
the same challenges as other veterans:
survivor’s guilt, a traumatic brain in-
jury, and PTSD. He knew he could be
in danger: At least 15 men from his
unit had died by suicide since they
returned home.
“As part of my healing process, a
counselor suggested I grow food as a
way to reconnect with my surround-
ings,” Brown says. He began growing
mint and cucumbers in pots on his
apartment balcony in Bellingham,
Washington. Watching the plants
grow had a calming effect. “I could
see it was helping me, so I figured,
why not bring that to a larger scale?”
Brown found an acre and a half
in nearby Lynden, Washington; in-
vested in squash, beets, carrots, and
flowers; and opened the gates to
veterans who might want to spend
a day, a week, or a season there—
and take home all the produce they
needed. The emotional nourish-
ment they received from fellow vets
was, well, organic to the process.
As Army veteran Paul Keupfer told
goskagit.com, “I describe it as
50 percent growing food, 50 percent
hugging.”76 june 2019
Reader’s Digest National Interest